We don’t need Al-Qaeda to produce these fanatics. They will appear anywhere and in many places where poverty, ignorance and manipulators prevail. They use Allah to justify their unspeakable cruelty, murders, destruction and replace with chaos and mayhem. They spread like uncontrollable fire and weeds that smother the good plants. They will raise their ugly head whenever they amass enough numbers and funds stolen or donated.
Sunnis and Shiites kill each other and both groups kill Christians. The number of the dead is increasing enormously and the refugees are fleeing or are displaced by the millions, Churches and monasteries are being burnt, Banks robbed, museums ransacked, Christians are called the undesirables, foul rhetoric and actions are rampant and chaos prevails. This stigma on the developed world must be erased and soon. Like unwanted weeds they threaten to smother the beautiful flowers of human progress. Much ink has been spent in the diagnosis. Any way one looks at what is happening one sees the ugliness of all of it. The only ones who benefit from this unruly state of affairs are the merchants of death. Humanity is the victim of this wave.
But what to do about it? I am a doctor and I am used to write prescriptions and give advice, and here I will provide my view on how best to tackle this unholy riddle:
1- Make sure that the perpetrators get duly punished. In a world in which heinous actions are justified, international standards must be observed by rulers and their subjects. To apply different standards of behavior to certain individuals and turn a blind eye towards atrocities incited by others is a recipe for rebellion.
2- Recognize that religions never kills but people use religions to do the killing. The conversation becomes malignant and short-sighted by claiming that one religion is superior to another. A coalition between all peace lovers from every religion (or no religion) must form an opposing front for these advocates of regression and return to the dark ages
3- EDUCATION: proper education by experts in innovation, history, languages and cultures is a must to stem this tide of ignorance. Aid by wealthy Nations has to be directed primarily to educating the masses. Individuals with wide and deep horizons are less likely to be brain washed than the ignorant and brainwashed.
4- Economic development: nothing is more potent than having a sense of ownership in one’s native country. Helplessness breads bad behavior since the rewards will be realized ONLY in the afterlife. Violence against others whose beliefs differ from those of the perpetrator of a crime becomes the validation to realize God’s promised gifts.
5- Social justice: The sense that a small minority in the society reap a larger proportion of the benefits at the expense of the lesser vast majority creates hatefulness against the privileged class. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to excel. Equalization of opportunity is not only human but is the right thing to do. A fair tax system and subsidies for least in a society can serve as the beginning of this trend.
6- Freedom of responsible opinion makers: It is customary to blame a foreign force (especially America) for one’s bad deeds. Consequences of any action lie with the doer. This phenomenon is engraved in the human mind since the inception of time. Religions teach that Adam had a covenant with God not to eat from the tree of knowledge. When he ate the forbidden fruit he blamed Eve for his action, and by proxy God who made her, for violating his contract. By the same token Eve blamed the serpent for its bad advice to her. Adam, while breaking his pledge, played the victim. It is customary that opinion makers use falsehoods, exaggerations, wishful thinking and conspiracy theories to justify their statements oblivious of the consequences of these ill-advised moves.
In this vein, I must mention the elephant in the room. Lack of peace between Israel and Palestine is not the cause of all of this violence. However, it is used as a justification for much of it. A meeting of mind between these two countries is a MUST to stem much of this violence. Their differences should not be left as an open sore used to excuse any heinous act.
Still I believe that violence will become much less prevalent in years to come. Governments will wake up and will implement the necessary measures to stem this unholy tide. Let us all join hands and work hard to prove that humans are better than to let the beasts among them have the upper hand in determining the future of humanity.
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Professor Lofty Basta MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FACP, FACC, FCCP, FAHA
